The Squid Sisters' Shenanigans
by SilentN
Summary: The Squid Sisters: the most famous Inklings in all of Inkopolis. Everyone knows the duo of performers, but not everyone knows what sort of craziness the hyperactive Callie and the lazy Marie commonly get into when they're off the air...
1. A 'Friendly' Competition

**The Squid Sisters' Shenanigans**

 _The Squid Sisters: the most famous Inklings in all of Inkopolis. Everyone knows the duo of performers, but not everyone knows what sort of craziness the hyperactive Callie and the lazy Marie commonly get into while they're off the air..._

 _Whether the two cousins are competing in a turf war together or causing trouble for their manager, they'll be sure to make a mess in this hilarious collection of one-shots about the Squid Sisters' "normal" lives!_

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 **Disclaimer:**

 _The Squid Sisters and all other such Splatoon-related content are the property of Nintendo. I own nothing. (Obviously!)_

* * *

 **A "Friendly" Competition**

 _Narrated by Callie_

So, Marie and I had some time off of work today, so we, like, decided to play a few rounds of turf war together! Fun, right? It's been awhile since we last competed together.

We got to Inkopolis Tower and I was all, like; "This is going to be AWESOME, Marie! With my roller and your charger, there ain't no one who can beat us! Squid Sisters forever! The ultimate battle-duo of battling duos! No one can match our battle-duo-ness! Let's show them all what the Squid Sisters are made of!"

Marie's just, like, y'know, being Marie. She's like; "I don't think ' _battle-duo-ness'_ is a word, Callie..."

And I'm like; "Whatev's! The point is; you _know_ we're going to win this together! I don't care if they pair the competitors two against six! When the Squid Sisters fight together, we ALWAYS win!"

And Marie's like; "Except for when we don't..."

And I'm like; "Right, but those times don't count, 'cause then we'd have a _really_ bad record."

Marie just rolled her eyes about something; the kind of eye-roll she tends to do whenever she just heard some idiot say something totally stupid.

Which is kinda weird, now that I think about it, since I was right there next to her, so I would've heard it too if someone nearby did say something stupid... I wonder what that eye-roll was all about, then..?

Anyways, when we went into battle, we ended up at Arowana Mall, and the teams were Green vs. Blue. I'm like; "Look, Marie! We're on the Green team! Your favorite color! ...Uh, Marie? ...Marie?!" I looked around at my teammates; there was a guy with a Splattershot, another guy with a Slosher, and a girl with an Inkbrush... But Marie was nowhere to be found!

Then I looked at the screen and saw Marie on the Blue team! It never occurred to me that we might end up on opposite teams!

I mean; sure, it's happened _plenty_ of times before, but I wasn't expecting it to happen _this_ time! I hadn't been so shocked to see Marie and I put on opposite teams since, like, the _last time_ it happened! Seriously, who would have seen _this_ coming?!

"Oh, well," I thought. Marie and I are BFFs; we might be on opposite teams again, but it's not like she would splat _me_ , right? She knows I hate it when she does that!

So I thought we'd just have a friendly competition and only splat the other Inklings and not each other. ...At least not until the last few seconds of the battle when I'd surprise her with a friendly splat from behind while she least expects it. (Mwahahaha!)

Boy, did she prove me wrong!

As the battle started, I went running ahead with my Krak-On Splat Roller, inking up a trail of...well...ink, of course! Then, out of nowhere, as I got toward the center of the battlefield, a blast of blue ink splatted me!

As I waited to re-spawn, I looked to see who the jerk was that splatted me...

And wouldn't you know it?! It was Marie!

Waving to me with a smirk on her face as she watched me get sent back to the spawn-point from the puddle of blue ink where she splatted me!

 _Traitor!_

One of my teammates had also gotten splatted and sent back to the spawn-point with me. I'm like; "How could she _do_ this to me?! I thought we were BFFs! What kind of BFF just _splats_ you like that without even letting you get the chance to betray _her_ first?!"

My teammate just gave me a weird look for no reason as I said that. I don't know why people always look at me all awkwardly like that, but I've gotten used to it enough that I don't really think anything of it anymore.

Then I thought; "Maybe she was just getting caught up in the moment and didn't realize that it was me she just splatted? She probably just hasn't figured out yet that we're on opposite teams and hasn't been paying attention to who she's splatting. That girl can be so oblivious sometimes!"

So after I re-spawned, I made my way back to her. And when I got close enough to speak to her I called out; "Hey, Marie! We ended up on opposite teams again!"

And then Marie calls out back to me, and she's like; "So I've noticed!" and then; BAM! She splats me _again!_

Can you believe it?! What a cold move!

As I re-spawned, I'm like; "Okay, Marie... If _that's_ the way you're gonna be, then _I'm_ just gonna be that way, too! _Two_ can play at _that_ game! It is on like Donkey Kong!"

This time, I went running back at Marie with full speed...ready to splat her hard for her betrayal!

I shouted; "Watch out, Marie! Now _I'm_ going to be the one to SPLAT_!"

And before I could even finish that sentence; BAM! She cuts me off and splats me in the face _again!_

Oh, how I _hate_ being interrupted!

As soon as I re-spawned, I headed straight for Marie once again. As I got close, I yelled; "Here I come! You and your gray hair are going _down_ , Grandma!" and I rushed straight towards her with my roller!

And then; BAM! She splats me _again_!

I'm like; "How does she keep doing that?! That's the _fourth_ time in a row that she splatted me!" As I re-spawned, I decided that maybe I should try being a little bit more sneaky this time and not yell out when I get near her again. So as I headed for Marie again, I approached her more quietly...

I sneaked up behind her while she was targeting another one of my teammates... She didn't even notice me standing over her shoulder with my roller in hand ready to splat her!

This was my big chance! My chance for _revenge_! Looks like approaching her quietly really paid off!

And believe me; the quiet approach isn't easy! Holding back from shouting out a war-cry while moving in for the splat on your enemy takes some serious self-control!

Fortunately, self-control is something that I'm a total master at...

But just as I was about to splat her, I noticed the merchandise displayed in the window right next to where Marie and I were standing.

And, O-M-G! The outfits on display were TOTES ADORBS!

I'm, like, squealing as I point into the window like; "O-M-G! Marie! Look! Those outfits are TOTES ADORBS!" And Marie, like, jolts in surprise as I say that, and then, instead of even bothering to look at the outfits I was pointing at; BAM! She splats me _again!_

 _Man! Talk about competitive!_ That girl can't even take her mind off the ongoing battle for just _one minute_ to look at some window merchandise that her opponent, cousin, and _best friend,_ is taking the time to interrupt the match to point out to her! _Somebody_ sure needs to get her priorities straight! _Sheesh!_

I'm like; "That does it! It is on like Donkey Kong _and_ Diddy Kong at the same time!" So I re-spawn and head running back to Marie again, ready to splat her like no one's business!

She was up on higher ground, so I decided to try sneaking around and splat her from behind again.

But on my way around, some _jerk_ on the Blue-team who's also using a roller like me comes around the corner and runs me over!

What a road-hog! Couldn't he see I had the right of way?! Ladies _always_ have the right of way! If he doesn't know even _that,_ then I'll bet he probably flunked Driver's Ed even worse than I did!

So anyways, after I re-spawned, I realized that there was little time left on the clock before the match was over, so I wasn't going to have time to try and sneak up on Marie again. It was now or never! I was going to rush in on her with full force!

But it looked like my team must have been performing pretty badly, since the enemy team had most of the map covered in their blue ink and were closing us in around our spawn-point.

 _Sheesh!_ Have my teammates been slacking or what?! What have they been doing this whole time, anyhow?! Can't they see that there's a turf war going on?! They sure don't look like they've been capturing a lot of turf to me! What a bunch of slackers! I seriously _hate_ being the _only formidable_ player on the team like this! I wish they'd take the battle more seriously instead of counting on people like _me_ to do all the work for them while _they_ all goof off!

Marie was moving in closer; sniping at us with her charger to splat us as we try to move out. She was too high up to attack directly, so I decided to circle around and come at her after I charged up my special-weapon.

I slipped around past the other members of the Blue-team and inked the corridors to the side where no one was guarding. Then, as my special-gauge filled, I turned back towards Marie, ready to splat her once and for all!

As I got near, I activated my special-attack; the Kraken!

Using my kraken-form, I climbed my way up the wall that Marie was standing on, then came at her by surprise!

She repeatedly blasted at me with her charger, but it did nothing more than push me back slightly in my kraken-form. And I said to her in my terrifying kraken-voice; "TRY AS YOU MAY, MARIE! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SPLAT ME THIS TIME! I AM INVINSAB_! HUH..?!"

And just in the nick of time before I could finally splat Marie (or even finish my sentence, for that matter!), a whistle blew to indicate that the time was up and the battle was over!

And I was like; "NOOOOOOOO!"

And Marie was like; "Yay! Hehe!"

Then Judd came out from who-knows-where and looked at the map, which was mostly blue. He held up a blue flag, determining that the Blue-team won.

Marie was like; "Yes!"

And I was like; "No!"

And our respective teammates were likewise.

I don't know _what_ my teammates had been doing that entire time, but whatever it was, they obviously did pretty terrible. What? Did they all just expect _me_ to carry out the fight myself while they all went around getting splatted like maniacs?! I seriously _hate_ working with people who can't do anything right!

That's when I looked around at my team...and I realized something that I should've noticed sooner...

Marie's like; "Looks like we beat you by a mile in that one! Wanna try again?"

And I pointed to my team and I'm like; "You only won because you had more members on your team than I did!"

And Marie's just in denial about it. She's like; "What do mean? It looks like you have your whole team to me..."

And I'm like; "Does _this_ look like a full team to _you?!_ Look; there are only _three_ green Inklings here! It's _supposed_ to be four against four!"

And there was; there was the guy with the Splattershot, the guy with the Slosher, and the girl with the Inkbrush, but no fourth member at all! I'm honestly surprised I didn't notice it sooner!

Marie just looked at me funny and said; "There's four of you..."

And I'm like; "Then where's my fourth teammate?! I don't see anyone here!"

And she just looks at me and is like; "I'm looking at her right now..."

And so I turn around to see this _supposed_ fourth teammate that she _claims_ to be looking right at, but I see no one there. I'm like; "Stop messing with me, Marie! I'm not stupid! Face it; you're just too salty to admit that you can't beat me in a fair fight!"

She just stands there and looks at me funny...and now everyone else is giving me that same strange look as if I were crazy or something.

Like, seriously; why do people always look at me funny for no reason at all like that?! What weirdoes!

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 **A/N:** _Thank you for reading! This is my very first published story, so I'm still just kind of experimenting yet. I'll be continuing this series on the side, but I'm mainly working on a Legend of Zelda fanfic right now, so I'll likely only be updating this once in awhile when I have some extra time from my other projects. I'll still try to get more chapters like this one posted when I can, but this fanfic is more of a lower priority from my Zelda one, so updates won't be as frequent, but they'll still happen from time to time. I hope you'll look forward to and enjoy them. :)_


	2. Squidmas with the Seniors

**A/N:** _Merry Christmas! I FINALLY got another chapter written for this series! I've been more focused on my Zelda fanfic, so I hadn't gotten around to updating this since the first chapter, but I do fully intend to continue this series. I've just been having trouble trying to write a second chapter that matches the first one in comedy. I don't want to fall short of anyone's expectations that the first chapter has set for them._

 _Anyway, I'd like to thank "ThePizzaLovingTurtle" and "Splattifying Agent 2" for their reviews. I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed my fanfic so far! Your positive feedback has been a good motivator for me to continue this series, and I hope my work will continue to satisfy you all._

* * *

 **Squidmas with the Seniors**

 _Narrated by Marie_

Callie and I had volunteered to perform at the senior home for Squidmas. After all, for many of these old folks, their spouses have passed away and their children are all grown up with families of their own and are out celebrating the holidays with their own children and grandchildren, so things tend to get pretty lonely and depressing for these seniors during holidays.

So when the senior home was looking for some volunteers to help throw a Squidmas party for them, Callie and I were happy to give our support...but I'll admit that I wasn't expecting it to be so much work...

I guess my real mistake was agreeing to help with the baking. Normally, it would've been a snap, but I just _had_ to let Callie help me... _BIG_ mistake! You'd _think_ I would've learned my lesson by now after all these years of past experience in baking with her, but no; I just _had_ to make an exception for Squidmas and let her join me in the kitchen!

I had realized while we were making the cake that we didn't have all of the right ingredients to make everything we had planned, so I had to make a quick trip to the store to get some while Callie continued with the batter. I specifically told her before I left to strictly follow the recipe, but when I got back from the store after waiting in a long checkout line, the oven (which _I_ paid for) was on fire!

Not being one to pay thorough attention to instructions, Callie totally ruined the cake - _and_ my oven- when she misread the measurements and added 112 cups of flour instead of 1 ½! And not only did she pile up more flour than what could be mixed into the batter, but she also got the idea that setting the oven temperature higher would shorten the time it took to bake, and so with that big a heap of raw flour in the pan when it went into that blazing oven turned higher than anyone in their right mind would set any oven to...well, let's just say it didn't end well...

I have no idea how anyone could possibly have more flour in their batter than batter itself and not stop to think that maybe something is off, nor do I know where she managed to even _get_ that much flour, but somehow; she did. (Maybe it was some sort of twisted Squidmas miracle..?)

Anyway, with the kitchen in ruin behind us, we ended up having to go and buy a cake with our own money (in addition to the bill that we're going to have to pay to repair the damage done to the apartment after that incident in the kitchen).

After picking up the cake, we were on our way to the senior home. Before we got into the car, we had our usual pre-driving conversation. It went like this;

Callie: "I'll drive!"

Me: "No."

Callie: "Please, Marie..?!"

Me: "No."

Callie: "Aw, you _never_ let me drive!"

Me: "You don't have a license..."

Callie: "I've been through Driver's Ed _plenty_ of times!"

Me: "And you flunked."

Callie: " _You've_ only ever taken _one_ driving test!"

Me: "And I passed."

Callie: "Please, Marie? Just this once? Pretty please..?!"

Me: "No."

Aside from that, we didn't really talk much for the rest of the drive. I was still pretty upset about the way she destroyed my kitchen, and yet she still had the nerve to pester me into letting her drive (illegally!) without any further thought about all the trouble she's already caused me, and so I really didn't care to talk to her.

When we got there, we brought in the haul and helped set up for the party. We had to make a few trips in and out of the door to bring in all of the sound equipment for our performance, and during one of my trips out, an elderly woman was on her way out the door at the same time I was.

I stopped to hold the door open for her...which ended up taking longer than I expected since she walked so slow. But then, when she was _finally_ almost at the door, someone called out to her from behind;

"Hey! On your way out?" he asked her.

She stopped to answer him; "Why, yes! I'm on my way to mail some Squidmas cards!"

"Oh, you mean you still have some left to send?" he continued. "You usually have all your greeting cards mailed by now."

"Yes, I am a tad behind this year..." she replied...still standing three feet from the door and completely ignoring the fact that I'm still holding it open and waiting for her to go on through. "My arthritis has been making it more difficult to write, so I haven't been able to get them all signed out as fast I used to..."

Him: "Oh, I hear ya! Arthritis is such a pain! And I mean that in more than one sense! It's getting to the point where my thumbs barely work enough to just push the buttons on my TV's remote control!"

Her: "I guess that's just the way it goes when you reach our age... Why, even my daughter is already getting it terribly in her wrists."

Him: "Say, how is your daughter these days? Has she and her husband been getting out more now that their kids are all grown up and moving out?"

Her: "Oh, I suspect they'll be doing a lot of babysitting soon; they're expecting their first grandsquid next month!"

Him: "Really?! I hadn't heard!"

Her: "Oh, well let me tell you..."

...And so their conversation continued to go on for awhile and was getting pretty long. But in the meantime; I had just been standing there holding the door for this old lady as she stood just three feet from it; carrying on with that conversation of hers and paying absolutely no mind to the fact that she's been holding me up this entire time.

But I didn't have time to just stand around and wait for her to finish. It was cold outside, I was just letting all the heat out by holding the door open, and I still had stuff to bring in for the performance. So I finally just decided to let go of the door and get back to work. She can just open the door herself when she's ready to go on.

And wouldn't you know it?! The moment I had let go of the door and walked off just so _happened_ to be the moment when the little old lady had _finally_ decided to get moving again!

"Well, I'll talk to you later at the party. Merry Squidma_!" - _WHAM!-_ She walks _right_ into the door as it shuts in her face!

I turned around to look and saw through the door's glass window as she falls flat on her back and her dentures go flying out of her mouth!

Like; _whoops..._

As everyone indoors goes rushing to her side to help her up, I just look away awkwardly and pretend not to notice as I get back to unloading the car.

 _Sorry, Granny, but you kinda brought that one upon yourself..._

So after we got everything unloaded and set up, we still had plenty of time yet before the dancing would start and it'd be time to perform, so Callie and I helped out with serving the food and pretty much just mingled with the seniors; talking to them, listening to their stories and whatnot. I was still pretty upset with Callie yet, and so this proved to be a good way of avoiding her.

Having lived to see and experience so many things, many of these elderly folks had a number of interesting stories to tell, whereas others... Meh. Not so much... One such story (which I have yet to decide if it was interesting or not) came from this old guy in a wheelchair. He was one of those monotone types who talks really slow and never shows any sort of enthusiasm nor changes his expression. ( _TOTALLY the life of the party..!)_

"It happened awhile back..." he said; "At a time longer back than anyone can remember... Two weeks ago, to be exact..."

I'm like; "Wait... I thought you just said it was longer back than anyone can remember..?"

He's like; "Well, when you live in a senior home...two weeks ago _is_ a time that no one _around here_ can remember..."

"Okay..?" I said. "I guess you have a point there... Continue."

"Anyways..." he said. "It happened awhile back... At a time longer back than anyone can remember... Two weeks ago, to be exact..."

Me: "Um... You already said that part..?"

Him: "Oh, did I..? I suppose it's hard to remember much at my age..."

Me: "So I've noticed."

Him: "Anyways... It happened awhile back... At a time longer back than anyone can remember... Two weeks ago, to be exact..."

This time, I just let the fact that he was repeating himself a third time slide; I didn't want to interrupt him again and cause him to start over for the _fourth_ time (which is probably exactly what he'd do).

He went on with his tale; "I needed to use the toilet really bad...but the last person to use it didn't flush... I was like; 'Hey! The last person to use the toilet didn't flush!' ...And so I called for maintenance... The maintenance squid came by...and he was like; 'What seems to be the matter, sir?' ...And I was like; 'Don't you _'sir'_ me! The last person to use the toilet didn't flush! _That's_ what seems to be the matter!' ...Then he's like; 'Then what did you call maintenance for? Why didn't you just flush it yourself?' ...And I'm like; 'Don't be ridiculous! Why should I have to flush for someone else?!' ...And he's like; 'Wouldn't that have been less trouble than putting in a call for maintenance?" ...And I'm like; 'That's none of your business, young squid! I called you to come fix my problem with the toilet; not to come criticize my logic!' ...And he's like; 'I was just asking!' ...And I'm like; 'Back in _my_ day; we actually _respected_ our elders!' ...And he's like; 'I wasn't being disrespectful!' ...And I'm like; 'Well, it sure looks that way to _me!'_ ...And then he got into a big argument with me that lasted so long that I didn't even have to use the toilet anymore...and my good pants had to go to the cleaners..."

I just kinda stood there in awkward silence as I listened to this old guy's story... I really had no idea how to react to _that_ one. That guy spills the details more than I care to hear.

After making up an excuse to get away before he told me anymore embarrassing stories, I ended up running into Callie shortly after. ...Or rather; _she_ ran into me when she wasn't watching where she was going because she was too busy playing Pokemon Go on her phone. (So much for being mindful of her surroundings...)

"Gotcha!" she shouted, paying no mind to the fact that she almost knocked me over while I was carrying a plate full of snacks.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, Callie!" I said to her. Between her wrecking my kitchen earlier and now crashing into me while my hands are full and not even thinking to apologize, I can't say I was too happy to see her.

"Oh, Hi Marie!" she said as she finally realized that I was there. "Look! I just caught a Staryu! Wouldn't it make a perfect Squidmas tree top?"

"Sure... And I'm sure these snacks that I worked so hard to prepare today would make _perfect_ decorations for the floor!" I said sarcastically to her. "Put your phone away and pay more attention to your surroundings!"

"Oh c'mon, Marie! Is _that_ the best display of holiday cheer you can do?!" she said to me. "Why so grumpy? It's Squidmas! Show some holiday spirit!"

"It's kind of hard to get into the holiday spirit when I have to put up with some accident-prone klutz who ruins my kitchen and _still_ doesn't learn to be more careful, Callie!" I snapped at her. "How does _anyone_ manage to apply 112 cups of flour to a cake and not even stop to think that they've made a mistake?!"

"Are you still mad about that?!" she said. "I _said_ I'm sorry! Let it go!"

Me: "Well, _'sorry'_ still doesn't fix it! Do you have _any_ idea how much your carelessness is going to cost to have the apartment fixed up?! When will you ever learn to pay better attention to directions?!"

Callie: "It was just an accident!"

Me: "An _expensive_ accident that could've easily been avoided if you'd just learn some common sense!"

Callie: "Well, what do you want me to do?!"

Me: "Just leave me alone..."

With that, we both went our separate ways and avoided each other for most of the celebration. I continued on; talking and listening to the seniors as I helped serve snacks and such; just trying to keep my mind off Callie and her big blunder.

As I was serving a plate full of snack bars around, I noticed that this one elderly woman who took a few had an EpiPen hanging from her purse, which got me a little worried that she might have food allergies, especially since those snack bars contained nuts.

"Hey, excuse me, ma'am," I said to her. "But you're not allergic to nuts are you? Because they're in those snack bars."

"Oh, no. I'm fine with them. Thanks for your concern, though," she answered me.

"Okay. Cool," I said. "I just noticed your EpiPen and got a little worried..."

"Ah, that!" she said. "I keep that with me at all times. Ever since a friend of mine had passed away after suffering an allergic reaction herself..."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that..." I sympathized. "That must have been a blow..."

"It was..." she said with a sigh as she looked down at her EpiPen. "It came so suddenly, too. We were out for lunch together one day and I convinced her to try a new dish. But what we didn't know was that the dish I got her to try had something she was allergic to in it, and she ended up with a severe reaction. Then, as she was lying there on the ground trying to breath, she handed me this EpiPen and seemed to be trying to say something important. I didn't understand, but it seemed pretty important to her that I should have this, and so I've kept it close ever since..."

I fell into an awkward silence as she said this. _Like; for eel..?_ She obviously doesn't seem to realize what her friend was asking of her upon handing her that EpiPen...

"Um... Like, do you know what an EpiPen even _does..?"_ I asked her.

"Not exactly," she answered. "Do you?"

I didn't want to make her feel bad about it or cause her embarrassment, but she still ought to know the truth. "Ma'am..." I said, trying my hardest to explain sympathetically (and believe me; that's _not_ an easy thing to do when you're a sharp-witted sass like me). "An EpiPen is something used to halt or slow an allergic reaction and prevent death..."

Her eyes widened as realization seemed to dawn on her. "Oh my!" she exclaimed. "So _that's_ why she gave this to me?! It all makes sense now! I feel so foolish for not realizing it sooner!"

I braced myself. I could only try to imagine how hard this news must have been to her. She was about to fall into an emotional breakdown now that she finally understood that she could have saved her friend's life...

Or so I thought.

She continued; "She gave me this because she didn't want me to have to suffer the same fate if the same thing were ever to happen to me! What a thoughtful friend she was! Thinking only of my well-being even on her deathbed! I wish I had realized just how good a friend I had while she was still with me! I would have treated her so much better! If that's the case; I'll just have to cherish this parting gift from her all the more from now on!"

I couldn't help but face-palm; she just plainly didn't get it. This old woman's confusion would be comical if it wasn't for the consequences it brought to her friend...

What's especially troubling about her naivety is how much it reminds me of Callie; I can _totally_ see her thinking and doing the same thing if anything like that were to happen to me or one of our friends! I'm going to have to make sure she's always well-informed of how any sort of emergency tools work...

Speaking of Callie; I had been avoiding her this whole time after what she did to my kitchen, but the time came when I had to rejoin her presence again once it was time to start our musical performance.

"Are you ready, Marie?" she said to me in an annoyingly perky voice as if nothing was wrong. "It's time to get this show started!"

"Whoopee..." I said sarcastically, still not bothering to show her any enthusiasm.

"Look, Marie," she said more seriously. "I know you're still mad about the baking incident, but can you still _try_ to show some holiday cheer while we're performing at least? After all, it _is_ Squidmas, and we're doing this to help make the holiday happier for these old folks. But how can we expect to bring them cheer if we don't show any ourselves?"

Callie might not always be the brightest bulb around, but she does make a good point. "You may be right, actually..." I admitted. "Alright... I guess I can forget about the damage while we're on stage."

"Great!" Callie said. "Now let's get started! The geezers are all waiting for the show!"

I chuckled. "Y'know, Callie...you actually do have some fairly sensible thoughts on occasion." I couldn't help but tease her a little.

"I know, right?" she said proudly. It took her a good twenty seconds or so before it finally dawned on her that I was also insulting her with that _'complement'._ "Wait a minute! Whatdya mean; _'on occasion'.._?!"

I just snickered to myself as we headed out to the stage. I'll admit; after almost all day of being mad at each other, it was nice to be finally getting along again and throwing friendly insults at each other like we normally do.

We performed a number of classic Squidmas carols and even added a few of our Squid Sisters' originals into the mix. The seniors were all dancing along as best as they could and clapping their hands. It was kinda cute to see them so happy and trying their best to keep up with the rhythm even though most of them could hardly move anymore. I started to wonder how good of dancers they were back when they were still young and able to move more easily.

It got me thinking about what Callie and I will be like at that age; while we might be famous for our ability to sing and dance now, but these days aren't going to last forever... The day will eventually come when our bodies will get too old to keep it up anymore, and we'll be just as immobile as these folks are now. I got to thinking about how easy it is to take our youth for granted, and the experience served as a reminder to me of how important it is to treasure what you have while you still have it.

After the party was over, I still continued to think about this for the rest of the evening. As Callie and I were loading up the car, I thought about that old woman with the EpiPen and how much she reminded me of an older Callie. Then I thought about how suddenly she had lost her friend (even if it _was_ kinda her own fault) and how that sort of thing could happen to any one of us right now, even while we're still young. And it occurred to me that you don't necessarily even have to grow old first before your youth might be taken from you; any one of us could die any day at any time right now.

"Alright, that's everything!" Callie said as she closed the trunk of the car. "We've still got some time, too! Wanna go get a cup of hot cocoa before heading back?"

"Sure..." I said softly. I was still thinking so much about everything that I wasn't even in the mood to go back to being mad at her again, or even throw out one of my witty comebacks to tease her with. ( _Shocking, I know._ )

I thought about what that old woman had said back there about her deceased friend; " _I wish I had realized just how good a friend I had while she was still with me! I would have treated her so much better!"_ She might not have had the best understanding of the situation, but she still had one thing right; you really should treat you friends better while they're still with you... You might not get the chance later (especially when they're as accident-prone as Callie is)...

"Hey, Callie..." I said.

"Yes, Marie?" she asked.

"There's a place just down the road a few short blocks from here..." I told her. "Why don't you drive?"

Callie's face lit up and her eyes widened so much in excitement that they looked like they could pop right out of her head! "Are you serious?!"

Me: "It's just a short path, and it's not like you won't be accompanied by a licensed driver, so hey; why not?"

Callie: "Omigosh! You really mean it?!"

Me: "Well, I've been feeling kinda bad about giving you the cold shoulder today over that baking incident... Sure, you _did_ destroy my kitchen and everything, but it was still just an accident, and you did say that you're sorry, so...I want to make it up to you. You're still my best friend no matter what...and that's more important to me than any old kitchen."

Callie's eyes started to water and she tackled me with a hug. "Oh, Marie.." she sobbed. "You're my best friend, too!"

This was getting way too cheesy for my liking, and was growing totally embarrassing, but I just smiled and patted her on the back and said; "Merry Squidmas, Callie."

"Merry Squidmas, Marie," she said back to me, smiling as brightly as always. "Now c'mon! Let's go! I can't wait to get on the road! This is gonna be a BLAST!"

She jumped into the driver's seat no sooner than she finished saying that and eagerly started the car. The instant the engine was running, she was already rushing out into the road with full excitement (plowing through the Senior Home's hedges in the process).

"HEY, WAIT!" I called out after her. "YOU FORGOT _ME!"_

* * *

 **A/N:** _Thank you all for reading! I know this chapter might not have been as humorous as the first, but I decided to make it a little more emotional as a holiday special. I don't think I captured Marie's sass very well, but this was pretty rushed in order to get it finished in time for Christmas in between working on my Zelda fanfic, so this is as good as I could get it. Ah, well. It's better than nothing. I'll try to get the next chapter funnier (and hopefully, it will come sooner than this one did). MERRY CHRISTMAS!_


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